A Change of Scenery:: Hiei ::
by themermaidfairy
Summary: After almost 5 years with no action for the Spirit Detectives, they are suddenly sent to the US to investigate a mysterious new energy that has recently been causing question. Accompanied by Botan, Yukina, and Keiko, the boys relocate (while not exactly loving the changes..) And soon stumble upon a group of three powerful demon girls, who happen to be after the same target. HieixOC
1. Chapter 1

*MAIN CHARACTER*  
NAME: Eliana (Ellie) Parker

RACE: Psychic Apparition/Demon

AGE: "21", real age unknown

HEIGHT: 5'0"

PERSONALITY: Spunky, fun loving, and kind hearted. Always wants to be where the action is and has trouble keeping her mouth shut when it comes to speaking her mind. She takes her physical condition and training very seriously, keeping up a strict regimen. Her bravery and courage are endless, she will do anything to help a friend in need.

ABILITIES: Telepathy, Teleportation, Telekinises/levitation, Concentrated psychic blasts, Psybeams, Healing, skilled with the Sais and trained in Ninjitsu.

NAME: Sarah Morgan

RACE: Earth Apparition/Demon

AGE: "21", real age unknown

HEIGHT: 5'03"

PERSONALITY: Goofy, can be somewhat clumsy, and extremely gullible. Definitely a tomboy. Loves to fight, and loves food. She could care less about make up or fancy clothes. She has a heart of gold and is quite bashful, especially around cute guys.

ABILITIES: Using / manipulating plants and minerals (rocks, sand, soil, etc.) to her advantage, on the offense or defense, camoflauge, skilled in Archery and Ninjitsu.

NAME: Krystal Evans

RACE: Weather Apparition/Demon

AGE: "21", real age unknown

HEIGHT: 5'04"

PERSONALITY: Shy, quiet, and reserved around most except Ellie and Sarah (because they are all such close friends). Clever and witty. Has a love for playing the Violin, and she plays it beautifully. Practices the art of meditation on a daily basis.

ABILITIES: Can conjur any kind of weather at any time, control over electrical fields, can endure extreme temperatures, image cloning of herself, skilled with the double swords and trained in Ninjitsu.

-  
"AMERICA?!"

The halls of the Spirit World Palace seemed to quake at the sudden eruption.

At the very end of the main corridor, past a room full of cubicles and frantically busy ogres flailing paperwork around and behind a pair of huge red double doors, 23 year old Yusuke Urameshi stood with hands flat on the big oak desk in front of him.

His dark brown eyes glinted like angry daggers and a vein seemed to pulsate in his forehead.

"As in the United States..." He continued somewhat softer, but his voice instantly raised once more, "OF AMERICA?!"

Behind the large, glossy desk and in a huge plush black chair sat Prince Koenma, in his Toddler form, gnawing anxiously on his light blue binky. He sighed and folded his hands on the desk.

"Yes, Yusuke, The United States of America.." Koenma spoke calmly but sharply. "It's very important."

"IMPORTANT?!" Yusuke continued to yell, then threw his right hand back behind him to motion at his three former team mates and still current friends, "We haven't been on a mission in over five years, we've barely even SEEN each other more than maybe once every six or seven months.." He took a breath, "And the first thing you say is we're being shipped off the AMERICA?! You're insane!"

"For once, I agree with Yusuke." Hiei remarked bitterly.

"Yea, Koenma, what gives?!" Kuwabara piped up next to calm, red haired Kurama, who remained quiet with his eyes closed and arms crossed. "We got lives here, ya know!"

"I understand that, Kuwabara, but you all are still my Spirit Detective Squad, and although there's been A LOT of down time... I still need the use of your skills."

"NO FREAKING WAY!" Yusuke rambled on, working himself into a huff in the corner.

"Why exactly is it that we're having such a huge change of scenery?" Kurama asked Koenma, ignoring his friend having a fit just a few feet away. "Is it something we should be worried about?"

"Well, honestly, I'm not quite sure.." Koenma admitted, "I've been picking up signals of a very strange energy from overseas.. I cannot tell if it's human or demon, evil or pure.. That's why I need you all to relocate and investigate."

The room fell mostly silent for a moment, Yusuke now beginning to calm down, listening to what Koenma was saying.

"This is just awesome.." Yusuke piped up once again, more calm this time, with his head in his hands. "What about our lives here? What am I gonna tell Keiko?!"

"Relax, Yusuke," Koenma said urgently, rubbing his temples, "Do you think I would send you off to another country without your loved ones in mind? Don't worry, it's all taken care of. Just pack your bags and be ready. You leave first thing in the morning."

"Well this is just great." With that, Yusuke stormed out of the office, huffing and swearing the whole way down the hall.

Kuwabara was the next to storm out, scrambling to open the door, letting out a loud "HMPH" as he exited. Hiei was next, leaving without a word, and Kurama departing with a polite bow.

There was a brief moment of silence as Koenma sat alone in his office. He let out a long, deep sigh.

"They probably should have waited for me to tell them they'll be attending an American University incognito.." He said thoughtfully to himself, "Oh well, I suppose life's no fun with no surprises."

-To Be Continued-  



	2. Chapter 2

Indiana.

Bloomington, Indiana.

This was the Urameshi Team's new "base", so to speak, where they were to track down and take appropriate action needed on this strange, mysterious energy that Koenma was so worried about... And not one person in the group was exactly thrilled.

The climate was something they were all used to; arriving in the middle of fall, the skies were gray and gloomy, the soon-to-be-barren trees were beginning to lose their orange leaves, and the air had a bitter nip to it.

As the four young men, accompanied by Keiko; Yusuke's girlfriend; Yukina, Kuwabara's girlfriend; and Botan, Team Urameshi's mission coordinator; traveled through the winding country roads of the Northern US state, they took in the completely different landscape in total silence.

Hills.

Cornfields for miles.

Barns, windmills, cattle...

In order to get to the city, to which you had to pass through a small, worn down but seemingly cozy town, you had to drive at least 45 minutes.

"This is so strange.." Keiko was the first to speak up. "I mean, having to travel by car.. there's no way we could walk anywhere here."

Koenma had had a new mini van waiting for the group of seven when they arrived to Indiana, and had promised them at least two more small cars for travel. They would definitely be needing them.

No one said a word more until they arrived at their new home about fifteen minutes later.

After traveling up a long gravel road that weaved through patches of tall pine trees, a huge log cabin style home came into view. There were large windows along the whole front of the home, a long deck stretched across the upper second story complete with french door access, and purple flower bushes lining the front steps, looking very inviting.

Behind the house, hills rolled upward and into an open field where a small pond lay.  
To the right all the eye could see were pine trees, and to the left a grassy incline leading down into another pine tree haven.

Kurama, the driver of the mini van, pulled into the covered parking to the right of the house, put it in park, and shut off the engine.

One by one, the seven of them stepped down onto foreign land, looking around and taking in the scenery.

"Home sweet home..." Kuwabara grumbled as he wrestled his suitcase out of the mini van. He placed his foot on the side of the vehicle and yanked as hard as he could, only to launch himself and the bag across the gravel, onto his back. "OOMPH!"

"Imbecile." Hiei grunted at him as he lifted his own suitcase from the van with one hand.

Kuwabara was still too winded to shoot an insult back at the crimson eyed fire demon, so he just lay motionless as Yukina rushed to his side.

"It's actually quite breath taking." Botan pointed out, standing in the direction of the incline. A crisp breeze whipped through the trees, brushing her light blue ponytail off her shoulders.

"Let's just get this over with.." Yusuke grumbled as he jingled the keys to the new house in his hand.

After everyone had pulled their luggage from the van, they made their way up the front steps, filing behind Yusuke.

The keys jingled softly as he jammed the first one on the hook into the front door. Turned it to the right. Withdrew it back into his palm.

He placed his free hand on the shiney golden door knob and opened the door. Instantly, the smell of fresh cut cedar and oak rushed into the open air, catching the group by surprise. They herded through the door frame and set their bags down.

The log cabin home was built in beautiful fashion. High, slanted ceilings, bronze chandeleirs, spacious open floor plan, open second floor looking down to the first up a curved stair case, and a kitchen adorned in granite and stainless steel.

The living room was complete with three long leather couches, two huge plush looking chairs, a flat screen TV, glass coffee table, some end tables, and a few other decorations such as faux plants and bookshelves.

Countless framed paintings hung on the log walls, as well as billowy white curtains from each window.

"Look," Kurama piped up, breaking the silence, "A note on the coffee table."

He extended his arm and pointed out a single sheet of notebook paper, a few cursive sentences scribbled down on the front.

Yusuke was the first to reach it, his friends close behind, looking over his shoulder as he scanned the words silently.

Hello, Everyone.  
I hope you've all had a safe trip and are pleased with what I set up for you.  
All the bedrooms are upstairs, each room is labeled as to who it belongs to.  
I apologize in advance if it's not decorated to your particular taste, but I think I know each of you well enough.  
Get settled in and then give me a ring. We'll discuss further plans then.

-Koenma.

P.S. You'll be attending Indiana University disguised as students starting Monday. Surprise!  
P.P.S Serves you all right for walking out in the middle of my important speech. :P

Yusuke clenched the paper in his hands, a vein beginning the bulge and pulsate in his forehead.

"C'mon Urameshi, I can't see, what's it say?!" Kuwabara whined.

"KOENMAA!" Yusuke abruptly hollered out, knocking everyone else on their backs in surprise, "I'M GONNA KILL YOUUUU!"

-Meanwhile...-

It was a typical Friday afternoon on the Indiana University campus. Students bustled around the huge courtyard, chattering and buzzing with excitement for the weekend.

Ellie Parker ducked and dodged her way through the crowd, heading towards her last class of the day; Biology Honors 101.

"Ellie!" Someone called across the courtyard; A pencil thin girl with big green eyes and short blonde hair. She was Ellie's lab partner in her Tuesday morning chemistry class.

The blonde girl waved, and Ellie waved back.

"Hey, Ashley!" She called back. Just as quickly as they'd said hello, each girl blended with the crowd once more, continuing on their own paths.

Technically, Ellie wasn't required to be in College, or really need to be as far as education. Hell, she wasn't even human like those surrounding her.

But, in order for her to conceal her true identity and remain low on the radar, she attended a human University, and held a regular part time job outside of school at a local bar called Shelby Lou's.

Lately, she and her two best friends and fellow demons, Sarah and Krystal, had been sensing something quite strange coming from somewhere in the area. This had been going on for months, plenty of leads... but all leading to dead ends.

Unknown to the human race, there was a world far beyond their own, where demons and monsters of all different races and levels of skill ran wild, causing chaos, and many times praying on those in the Human World.

It was called the Demon World, for obvious reasons.

Ellie and her friends sought to protect the Human World and ultimately the entire planet using their abilities, fighting and destorying demons that were a threat, so each of them lived incognito, disguised as young College students just living an average life in an average place; Bloomington, Indiana.

Ellie arrived to class with exactly two minutes to spare. Most of the students had already arrived, chatting with each other waiting for the remaing handful.

A group of dopey frat boys that usually always sat in the front of the class blatently stared at Ellie's slightly exposed tummy from under her black crop top shirt, and their eyes simultaneously dropped down to her tight low rise blue jeans as she passed by, making her way to the rows in the back of the raised pews.

She rolled her eyes as she heard a whistle and a holler of "Ow, Owww!" from the boys up front. A few people chuckled.

Idiots... Ellie thought to herself. This was the one class she didn't have many friends in, except Sarah.  
She grinned at the brunette as she met eyes with her in the third to last row, all the way to the left.

Sarah smiled and waved.

Ellie shuffled by the already seated students in the row. Most people were polite and simply let her pass, others pretended to ignore her, or were just plain oblivious, forcing her to have to squeeze by.

"Hey!" Sarah greeted Ellie as she sat down, reaching behind her head and pulling all over her long, silky pale pink hair over her shoulder.

"Hey, what's up?" Ellie replied to her friend.  
Sarah's outfit was simple: A white t-shirt, green vest, khaki cargo shorts and black chuck taylors. She had always been such a tomboy.

"Not much. We have a test today." Sarah informed her, sounding less than excited. "I hate tests.."

"Why?" Ellie asked her with a slight furrow of her brow, "Tests are so easy.." She set her floral print backpack on the floor beside her feet.

The brunette girl shot her a look.

"Yea, well we aren't all blessed with the power to read people's minds." She retorted, slightly lowering her voice below the class's dull roar.

"Oh, relax," Ellie said with a wave of her hand, "You know I always give you the answers."

"I know," Sarah replied, suddenly looking cheerful, "That's why you're my best friend!"

"Is that the only reason?" Ellie laughed back.

"Hmm." Sarah pretended to think for a minute. "Well, you do make pretty good tacos. And you know how I love tacos."

"Oh, Sarah, I'm touched.." Ellie replied saracstically with a smirk.

Just then, the door to the classroom swung open, hushing the students, but not silencing them.

Professor Lucas, a tall lanky man in his late 40's, walked into class right on time. His brief case swung in his right hand, and with his left hand he reached up and straightened his dark red tie.

"Alright, people," Prof. Lucas called out, "Test today. Pencil and paper out, mouths shut, if I hear your phone go off, you fail."

After a few more mumbles, the room fell silent of voices and uproared in the sound of shuffling backpacks, paper ripping from notebooks, and pencils of the eager students tapping against the desks.

The tests were passed out. Sarah made a disgusted face as she noticed the total of 89 test questions.

"At least it's multiple choice.." She grumbled.

"Sarah." Prof. Lucas scolded her from his podium at the front of the classroom. He peered at her over his thick rimmed glasses, eyes narrowed.

Sarah sunk in her desk, mouthing a "sorry".

Ellie stiffled a giggle, and the class began taking the test, Ellie putting her telepathy abilities to work.

xxxx

"Boy am I glad that's over!" Sarah roared as she and Ellie filed out of Biology class with the rest of the students. "Thanks for slipping me the answers to 25 and 32... I was totally stumped. Totally don't remember learning any of that."

"That's probably because you can't remember things you sleep through." Ellie replied as she and Sarah finally made their way into the main hall, moving towards the exit to the courtyard where they were to meet up with Krystal.

"Hmm. You're probably right." Sarah agreed, causing Ellie to chuckle.

Finally, they reached the end of the main hall, exiting the building into the chilly fall air.

They strolled through the bristly grass, keeping up casual conversation, joking and giggling about class and other things.

"There she is." Ellie said in the midst of their conversation about a TV show they had recently watched.

Sarah followed their friend's gaze to a girl with rosy cheeks and long green hair in a pony tail at the top of her head. She wore a blue plaid dress with a long sleave white undershirt, black leg warmers over tall white socks, and a pair of black flats. She had a book open, and seemed very focused.

"Hey, Krystal." The two girls greeted her simultaneously, causing her to jump a bit, whipping her head towards them. Her golden eyes were wide as dinner plates.

"Oh, Sarah, Ellie.." She breathed, placing the open book over her heart, "You startled me."

"Sorry about that." Sarah apologized as she shifted her messenger style bag on her left shoulder. "You ready to go?"

"Yea," Krystal replied, standing. She grabbed her violin case off the bench she was sitting on, and lifted her gray backpack onto her back. "I just have to stop by the Main Office, I just have to pick up some paper work on my volunteer hours from last year."

"Alright, well let's book it there so we can get home." Ellie insisted, leading the other two girls in the direction of the Main Office. "God, I'm so glad I don't have to work tonight.."

"Lucky, I wish I didn't have to.." Sarah huffed. She worked in a gym, where she was a receptionist and also sometimes helped with Kick Boxing instruction and training.

Within five or six minutes, they had made it all the way across campus to the Main Office, which looked a lot like a church, the roof ascending into a pointed top with artistic carvings running all through the stone it was made out of. Beautiful, really.

"We'll wait here." Ellie told Krystal, who simply nodded and walked shyly up to the front desk, waiting her turn to speak with the woman in glasses behind it. There were three students in front of her.

Sarah and Ellie took a seat in the uncomfortable chairs the school had provided in the office, waiting somewhat patiently for their friend to be helped.

Ellie whipped out her white touch screen phone, a pink charm shaped like a lightning bolt jangling off the top left corner. Just as she opened a game to play to pass the few minutes they would be sitting there, a slightly strange feeling washed over her.

Her body stiffened, and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. It was a feeling of another energy or aura.. actually a few of them.. radiating from somewhere around her. She could sense them, but at the same time, they were supressed.

Her blue eyes scanned the room, trying to pinpoint where this was coming from, but with no luck.

"Ellie..?" Sarah asked quietly as she noticed her friend's behavior. "I feel it too... is that what's wrong...?" She had a serious tone to her voice.

Ellie nodded.

"Yea. I can't tell what it is or where it's coming from." She whispered back huskily.

Just then, a jolt ran up her spine as the double glass doors of the office were swung open.

Both girls turned to see four young men walking through the doors. They definitely didn't look like anyone that was from around here.

The feeling became a bit stronger, and Ellie focused on the four strangers. A tall one with curly orange hair, one slightly shorter with long red locks, an average height guy with slicked back black hair, and one on the shorter side, just a little taller than Ellie who stood at five feet, with spiky blacked hair that seemed to almost defy gravity.

Sarah and Ellie watched as the boys stopped behind Krystal, waiting in line. Ellie could see that their green haired friend could sense their presense as well, shifting a bit and looking behind her.

"I think it's those guys.." Ellie whispered to Sarah, who nodded in agreement.

"Yea.. there's something weird about them.." Sarah remarked, "I've never seen them around here before, have you?"

Ellie shook her head.

"I'm gonna try something." she muttered, trying to focus in on any of their thoughts, to break through this sort of barrier they must have had veiling them. She tried one after another with not much luck until she landed on the shortest one.

Ellie tried her hardest to probe his thoughts, but something clicked inside her mind, as if a switch had been clicked off, leaving her thoughts in darkness.

She jolted a bit as the short one turned his head ever so slightly, peering at her with his crimson eyes.

She stared back with her deep blue ones, not entirely knowing what to do. It was obvious he had sensed her presence in his mind, and booted her out... What was this guy? And his friends?

At this point, Krystal made her way back over to the group, glancing at the four boys quickly as she walked by with her paperwork.

"What happened, Ellie?" Sarah whispered.

"Did you guys feel that..?" Krystal asked quietly with her papers held up beside her mouth.

Ellie stayed quiet for a moment, overhearing the boys saying they were there to register for classes. She caught the sound of their names, but they all sounded hard to say and just.. strange. They had to have been foreign, like she originally thought.

"I'll explain later.." Ellie muttered as she stood up, Sarah following suit. "Let's go."

Ellie pushed the doors open, quickly walking from the main office toward the edge of campus.

Krystal and Sarah glanced at each other for a moment before quickly following after their pink haired friend.

"Ellie?" Sarah called to the Psychic Demon, who had been walking ahead for a few minutes now. Krystal followed beside her queitly.

That was really weird.. Ellie spoke to herself in her thoughts, They obviously had something to hide, supressing their auras like that.. And that guy with the red eyes.. He kicked me out of his head.

Maybe these guys were what she, Sarah, and Krystal had been trying to track down all along.

Ellie didn't know, but she what she did know is that she would get to the bottom of this case, and fast.

-To be Continued-  



	3. Chapter 3

The weekend had come and gone, Monday rolling around quickly for Team Urameshi.  
After a rough morning of waking up extra early and driving 45 minutes into the city, (not to mention taking the wrong turns and getting lost at least three times) the boys finally pulled into the IU Campus parking lot. They dodged students left and right and circled the lot a few times before finally finding a parking spot.  
"Outta the way, ya buncha numbskulls!" Yusuke hollered out the open passenger side window, shaking his fist at a group of two guys and three girls.  
This only earned him a middle finger from one of the guys in the group, and a "nice mom van" insult from the other. The three girls giggled as the group continued on their journey through the parking lot.  
"Well, this should be an interesting experience..." Kurama muttered from the driver's seat, giving a side glance to the now fuming Yusuke next to him.  
"This is just idiotic." Hiei piped up bitterly from the seat behind Kurama's. "How exactly is roaming this wretched place crawling with weak, pathetic humans going to help us get to the bottom of this ignorant mission."  
"I dunno," Kuwabara began babbling from beside Hiei, "But American girls sure are pretty.."  
He oggled over a group of blonde girls who ambled by, all dressed in tiny jean shorts and ugg boots in the middle of fall.  
Hiei simply rolled his crimson red eyes and mumbled an inaudible insult towards his orange haired team mate.  
After another minute or so more inside the van, the four young men finally stepped out onto the pavement, and locked up the vehicle.  
They made their way up to the main building, schedules in hand, dressed in their best possible "college student" get up.  
Yusuke was in a green tank top, a pair of faded jeans, white sneakers, and a white and navy colored sports jacket over top.  
Kuwabara was dressed in a red and black long sleeved football jersey, black sweatpants.. and his slippers. Waking up 35 minutes later than everyone else that morning, he had been in a rush and hadn't been able to find his shoes.  
Kurama looked the most dressed up in his pink polo shirt, denim jacket, khaki pants, and brown loafer. Before the boys had left the house that morning, Yusuke had teased Kurama relentlessly, telling him he looked like a "total frat boy".  
Hiei had kept it simple, wearing only a long sleave black shirt, slightly baggy black jeans, and white shoes.  
"Anybody going to... Historic English Level 3...?" Yusuke asked the group as he stared at his schedule, crinkling his nose at how boring his first "class" sounded. At least he didn't really have to do the work or pass.  
"Nah.." Kuwabara replied as he scratched his head, "I'm going to... Trigonometry?"  
Yusuke snorted a laugh.  
"That's gonna be like alien language to you, Kuwabara." He sneered, teasing his friend.  
"Yea, yea!" Kuwabara fumed back, "I'd like to see you pass it."  
"I've got Physics," Kurama spoke up, interupting the bickering between his two team mates, "What about you, Hiei?"  
Kurama turned to the shortest member of their group, who was giving the human students passing by a slightly disgusted look.  
"Hn. The same." He grunted back without looking at Kurama, "Physics."  
In his head, Hiei was just the slightest bit grateful that Kurama would be accompanying him to his first destination.  
If he were to go it alone, there was a strong possibility one of these cocky humans could push him the wrong way. And if that happened, he just might have killed someone, blowing their entire mission.  
... Not that Hiei particulary cared, but still, killing the humans wasn't the best idea.  
So, without anymore words, the group of four split up, and began to attempt to navigate the enormous campus.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

8:30 AM, on the dot.  
Ellie sat in the South East corner of her first class on Monday morning; Physics, Prof. Blackwell, room 309B.  
It was getting progressively nippier outside, so Ellie wrapped herself up in her magenta colored hoodie, pulled her long hair out in front of her shoulders, and lifted the hood up over her head.  
She glanced at the huge wall clock above the white board.  
8:33.  
Ellie just rolled her big blue eyes and slipped her earbuds in. She shuffled through her hundreds of songs, letting her MP3 player stop and play through a random tune; My Life for Hire by A Day To Remember, one of her favorite bands.  
She tapped her black low-top converse shoes against the floor lightly to the beat of the song and began doodling on the cover of her notebook.  
At 8:47, Prof. Blackwell; A short, stalky woman with ash blonde hair, around the age of 52; ambled into the classroom, her typical pink plaid thermus full of coffee in one hand, her brief case full of paper work and lesson plans in the other.  
Over the reasonable volume of her music, Ellie could hear the Prof. make excuses about the traffic being heavy on her way to the school.  
*Riiiight.* She thought to herself, smirking slightly and keeping her main focus on her swirly doodles.  
It didn't matter to her whether the teacher was late, on time, or even showed up at all. She hardly ever payed attention in any class she had. Thanks to her psychic abilities, and also to her own common knowledge, Ellie knew almost every answer to every test and homework question, always receiving A's on exams and classwork. She was merely there to blend in, sort of like an Air Marshall.  
As Prof. Blackwell began a speech involving Newton's Theorums, the doors of the classroom opened once more.  
Everyone in the class, including Ellie, turned to see what was going on.  
Ellie's eyes widened when she discovered the source of the opening doors.  
Two of the strange young men from the main office a few days ago. The tall, thin one of long red hair and sparkly emerald eyes, who was being oogled by almost every girl in the room; and also the shortest one of the group. How could she forget him, dressed in all black.. and those piercing red eyes.  
Each of them handed Professor Blackwell a slip of paper, and she smiled at them.  
The Psychic Demon muted her music just as her teacher was beginning to introduce the strangers.  
"We have new students, everyone," She announced loudly, "Please welcome... Err... Kurama.. aaaaaand... Hiei..?"  
She had to study their names for a few moments on the sheets of paper she'd been given. She glanced up at each of them for approval.  
The red haired guy; Kurama; smiled warmly and nodded.  
"Yes, that's correct." He said. His voice was soft and gentle.  
The one dressed in solid black, with the tall black hair; Hiei; Said nothing, instead just stared around the room with a cold, emotionless gaze.  
"Right." Professor Blackwell continued, "Kurama and Hiei are joining us through a Japanese Exchange program."  
As the rest of the class chattered about their strange sounded names and all the girls oohed and aahed over Kurama, Ellie sank down in her seat and watched both of them travel to two open seats at the opposite corner of the room.  
*How did I not sense them getting close to the classroom..* She thought to herself, *I can hardly feel anything now... But I know something's there. They're blocking it somehow.*  
Ellie kept a close watch on the suspicious new students, while Professor Blackwell drabbled on with her bland, boring lecture about inertia, and objects in motion.  
The Psychic Demon continued to try and press into either one of the boy's minds, with absolutely no luck. No matter how hard or which way she tried to pry, all she could read was a blank wall of nothing. Their minds' doors remained shut tightly.  
Ellie furrowed her brow is slight defeat, they had a good defense. But she wasn't going to give up. She just needed to find their weakness, and who knows how long that could take.  
The rest of the class went by painfully slow. Ellie sat impatiently, fidgeting, knowing there was a possible threat sitting just feet away from her, and there was nothing she could do about it... yet.  
Finally, the clock began to tick down the last two minutes of the class remaining.  
Knowing she, nor Sarah or Krystal, had another class for at least an hour or two, Ellie whipped out her phone and sent a joined text message to each of them.  
It read simply, "Meet me in the library".  
Usually, after their morning classes, the three girls would hang out in the student lounge with a few other classmates, but today Ellie decided they needed somewhere calm and quiet to talk seriously about the new issue at hand.  
After watching the green "Msg Sent!" letters appear on her screen, Ellie slipped the touch screen phone back into her backpack's side pocket.  
When class was dismissed, she waited until the two strange boys passed the front of the classroom, before edging out of her own seat. She exited the room following Hiei and Kurama at a safe distance, making sure to stay mixed in with the other students.  
She kept the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her head, just in case one of them might catch sight of her.  
She was lucky to take that safety measure, because the two boys stopped short as a classroom door swung open and cut them off.  
Ellie kept on with the flowing stream of loud, roaring students, passing righy by the two of them. She made sure her face was hidden, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of fiery red eyes staring right at her, following her and burning into her back as she gained some distance away from them.  
It took everything she had, but Ellie calmed her fighting spirit and resisted the urge to turn and pounce at the red eyed stranger, to stare him down or call him out. it wasn't the right time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a secluded corner on the second floor of the huge IU library, Sarah, Krystal, and Ellie huddled at a small table. Books were open in front of them and papers were scattered across the table, putting on the illusion of studying.  
"We've gotta figure these guys out," Ellie whispered to her friends seated across the table from her, then hushed her voice even more, "Seriously, I can't even tell if they're human or demon. But it's definately something unusual."  
Do you think they could be what we've been trying to track down..?" Sarah asked in a hushed voice, glancing around to make sure no one was in ear shot. They were pretty much alone on the second floor, though.  
"I was wondering the same thing," Krystal added softly as she tucked a long, dark green piece of hair behind her ear.  
Ellie leaned back in the slightly cushiony chair and thoughtfully tapped her pen against her lips.  
"The signal has been sort of fading in and out... so it's a big possibility." She mumbled her reply, "And, if the are, come on. Look at them! They can't be TOO hard to take down."  
"Yea, but they're kinda cute.." Sarah pondered.  
Krystal snapped her wide eyed gaze over at Sarah. Ellie followed suit.  
"What?!" The green haired weather demon yelped, someone managing to still keep her voice quiet.  
"I mean, except for that dopey orange haired guy.." Sarah shuddered.  
"Sarah..!" Ellie whispered hoarsley.  
"What?!" Sarah retorted, "All I'm saying is, if those are human disguises, these guys really know what they're doing."  
Krystal dropped her head into her hands, and Ellie let out a sigh.  
"Well, I guess as long as you don't let a little sexual frustration-" She began, but her brunette friend cut her off.  
"Hey! I am NOT sexually frustrated!" She snapped in a whisper, her eyes savage and her face beet red.  
"Alright, okay," Ellie took a breath and began again, "As long as you don't let a little PHYSICAL ATTRACTION get in the way of kicking their asses, we should be okay."  
Sarah was about to fire back a remark, when Krystal suddenly pointed out the huge window beside them.  
"Guys," She gasped, "Look!"  
Ellie and Sarah each leaned over to gaze out the window, and their eyes widened.  
The skies were growing dark outside, a heavy rain on it's way. On the ground, rushing around the courtyard with other students, the four strange boys made a B-line for the library.  
The tallest guy in the group, the dopey one with orange hair Sarah didn't like, peered up at the sky, looking dreadful of the rain. He said something to his friends, and the one in the middle; average height, with short black hair; just waved him to keep up with the rest of them.  
The girls watched as they made it into the library doors, just before the rain started pooring down.  
The three of them glanced back and forth between each other, nodding once, knowing what they were going to do. They stood up, and walked in seperate ways, abandoning their books and papers on the table.  
Sarah and Krystal stayed on the second floor, keeping a bird's eye view of the group of guys, who were spreading out between the aisles, browsing books for god knows what reasoning. Maybe to just appear to be normal human students, just like the girls portrayed themselves to be?  
Ellie slunk her way down the stairs, refraining from using her teleportaion abilities on school campus. She kept watch on each of the four guys, knowing their locations at all times.  
She could see Kurama from where she walking, staying about three aisles back. She picked up books, flipped through pages, and placed them back; trying to act natural and inconspicuous. Now the dark haired guy in the sports jacket made his way over to Kurama, and they began whispering about something. Ellie strained her ears but wasn't able to hear.  
She glanced up at her two friends on the second floor, peering subtly over the rail to the ground floor. They gave her a "clear to go" signal, and she moved one aisle closer to the two boys.  
Ellie grabbed a book from the middle shelf and flipped it open, looking down at the jumbled letters on the pages. Not one word processed into her brain, she was too focused on trying to hear the conversation between Kurama and the boy she didn't know the name of.  
"If only I could get a little closer.." She muttered to herself, then turned around to see if anyone was watching her-  
And someone was.  
Ellie turned to come face to face- well, almost face to face, she was just an inch or two shorter- with a gaze of flashing red.  
Hiei stood before her, his hands in the pockets of his black jeans, looking straight into her eyes of blue. His gaze was emotionless, but almost menacing. Ellie didn't let it intimidate her.  
For a moment, the both of them stayed quiet, until finally Hiei's voice broke the air for the first time.  
"What exactly are you doing, onna?"  
*Onna..?* Ellie's thoughts asked her and she tried to look confused, *What the hell does that mean...*  
"Umm.." She began to stammer, but then remembered she had a book in her hand. Perfect. "Just found the book I was looking for."  
She gestured to the open book in her hand, which she then shut. She stared at him for a few seconds longer, keeping her eyes just as sharp as his, and never blinking.  
He was trying to psyche her out, but it wasn't working.  
"Excuse me." Ellie said to Hiei briskly, and stepped passed him, her shoulder just barely brushing the top of his forearm. He felt hot, even through his long sleeve shirt, but Ellie could see he wasn't sweating and didn't appear uncomfortable.. odd.  
She kept her gaze straight as she continued to walk back up the stairs, unaware if she was being watched or not.  
Ellie met back up with Sarah and Krystal on the top floor, who tried to ask her what had happened during her encounter with Hiei.  
"Don't worry, I'll tell you later. We're going to need a plan of action." She packed up her backpack and turned to the window. It was still pooring down rain outside.  
Ellie turned to Krystal.  
"For now we've got to get out of here, so do your thing Krys... But make sure no one's watching."  
"Okay." Krystal agreed and nodded.  
The three girls sunk back behind a shelf of biography books, and Krystal began to focus. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them. In place of their natural golden color, they were illuminating a pure white glow. Her head tilted just slightly as she stared out the window, the rain pelting the glass.  
She held her hand up and drew her fingers in just slightly. Instantly, the rain slowed, then let up completely, the sun peeking through the clouds.  
The girls could hear the librarians talking about the weather clearing up so suddenly, but layed low as Krystal returned to normal, and they hurried down the stairs.  
The three demonesses passed the group of four boys on the way out. Krystal and Sarah kept their gazes forward, but Ellie couldn't help but glare at Hiei... and the rest of the mystery men saw it.  
The taller dark haired guy whispered to Hiei, but he didn't reply.  
Soon the girls were out of the library and on their way home, deciding to skip the rest of their classes for that day. This issue was much more important.  
"It was that girl," Hiei muttered to Kurama as the girls exited, but he kept his eyes on them through the glass doors as they made their way across the court yard, "The one that I was telling you about, Kurama. She was in that room with us earlier, thinking she's being sneaky hiding under a sweater. Hn."  
Kurama stayed quiet as he listened to Hiei, glancing down at him then back up at the girls walking away, very small now.  
"There does seem to be something a big odd about her... that whole group, really.." Kurama agreed.  
"Huh? What's going on?" Kuwabara asked, looking back and forth between Kurama and Hiei, "I don't like being left out of the loop!"  
"Don't worry, Kuwabara," Kurama assured, "We're just going to have to keep a very close watch on those three girls.. something tells me this won't be the last time we'll see them."

-To Be Continued- 


End file.
